PHILIPPINE BIOMASS UTILIZATION: A COUNTRY PAPER REPORT

Anthony Shun Fung Chiu and Jonathan Zablan Sengson

Introduction

One of the most important issues that is currently facing the Philippines, and every other
developing country in the 21st century is the capability to have an affordable,
dependable, and renewable energy source. Historically, the Philippines has been heavily
dependent on imported oil for its energy needs. In recent years, the Philippine
Government started to take measures to decrease the country’s dependence on oil by
developing indigenous energy resources. With the country’s recently introduced
program towards diversification, the total energy requirement is projected to increase at
an average rate of 6.6% per annum, over the period 1996-2025. With the rising costs of
fossil fuel energy coupled with the increasing population of the country, the pressure of
harvesting alternative fuel options grows bigger every day.

Biomass is defined as organic products of the agriculture and forestry systems developed
to provide food, fuel, and organic matter captured sewage and waste treatment
facilities (Bun, 1994 cited in Nicolas, 1999). The Philippines, being an agricultural country
where major crops like rice, coconut and sugarcane are harvested in tons per day can
generate a substantial amount of residues that may be used as energy fuel. Furthermore,
it is well endowed with an extensive livestock and forestry industry that also contributes
heavily to the biomass potential of the country. Substantial investments in research and
development have already been undertaken in the pursuit of continuing to expand
biomass supply and enhance energy conversion technology present in the country.

Although the use of alternative energy technologies have been introduced in the rural
areas of the country as early as the 70’s, it was only in the latter part of the century that a
concentrated effort was made to accelerate the development and use of biomass
resources in the nation. Based on statistics gathered in the year 1999, New Renewable
Energy (NRE) sources accounted for a significant share of the total energy consumption
in the Philippines. The share of NRE in the energy mix was 28.93 %, with biomass
accounting for 99.911% of the Total New and Renewable Energy (NRE) sources in the
country (Figures 1). As of December 1998, the number of biomass systems installed
reached up to 38,953 with 64,608 beneficiaries (GOP, 1999 cited in Elauria, Castro &
Elauria, 2002).

Coal
Hydro 8%
3%
Geothermal
6%
Oil
Biomass
Geothermal
Oil
Hydro
54%
Biomass Coal
29%

Figure 1. Primary Energy Mix of the Philippines in 1998

Source: Philippines Energy Plan 1999-2008 cited in Samson et al., 2001
1. BIOMASS RESOURCES

Biomass resources available in the Philippines are generally residues from rice, maize,
coconut, and sugarcane products, which are abundantly grown in the country. The
following table lists the recoverable yield for each of these types of resources:

Table 1. Annual yield for selected crops in the Philippines

Biomass Type Yield (tonnes) Yield in oven dry tonnes

Sugarcane trash 391,486 274,040
Bagasse 643,900 321,950
Maize cobs 489,000 391,200
Rice hull 1,500,000 1,365,000
Coconut husk 4,100,000*
Coconut frond 4,500,000*
* A rough estimate of the potential recoverability of coconut residues gives 50% for coconut husks and 40% for
coconut fronds.
Adapted from Tables 1.2 and 1.8 in Mendoza et al., 2001

Biomass resources for the country may be classified into 5 groups: 1) wood-fuel and
wood waste, 2) cane trash and bagasse, 3) coconut residues, 4) rice residues, and 5)
animal wastes. The percentage of each resource is presented in figure 2 below.

Animal
Waste
Rice Residue
0.7% Bagasse
6.5% 14.3%
Coconut
Residue
16.1 Bagasse
Fuelwood
Charcoal
Charcoal Coconut Residue
6.3% Rice Residue
Animal Wastes

Fuelwood
56.1%

Figure 2. Percentage per Biomass Resource in 1998

Source: Philippines Energy Plan 1999-2008 cited in Samson et al., 2001

Wood-fuel and wood waste are the most significant indigenous energy source in the
Philippines. Wood-fuel is used as fuel for in-plant generation and for process heating. In
addition, it is also as fuel for cooking in commercial establishments such as restaurants
and bakeries. The consumption of wood-fuel and wood waste is expected to increase
from 245 PJ in 2000 to 294 PJ in 2008 (DOE cited in Elauria, Castro & Elauria, 2002).

Cane trash and bagasse are both residues of sugar cane. But while bagasse is used as
fuel in sugar mills to produce steam for power generation and for sugar processing, cane
trash is not utilized and is mostly burned in the fields. The latter is most likely due to cane
trash’s bulk and high collection and transportation costs.
Coconut residues include shells, husks and fronds from coconuts and are largely used as
fuel in domestic and industrial sectors. Coconut shells are converted into charcoal for
ironing, water –heating, and many others while copra-drying facilities make use coconut
shells and husks. In addition, coconut wastes are also used as fuel in ovens, kilns, stoves,
dryers, and gasifiers.

Rice residues, which are comprised of rice-hull and straw, are used in the drying of
paddy and other crops, as fuel for cooking in special stoves, and factories engaged in
activities such as fish-smoking, salt-making, and brick-making. Rice hull may also be
utilized by some rice mills for steam and electricity generation of the plant while rice-
straw can be used as fuel in pottery-making.

Animal wastes coming from commercial-scale livestock and poultry are the only forms
acceptable for viable biogas production. While this has not been greatly utilized in the
Philippines, a study showed that the potentially recoverable energy from animal waste
biogas was about 35 PJ in 1995.

2. BIOMASS PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES

Because of the abundance of biomass resources, various biomass energy conversion

technologies have been developed and adopted under local conditions. The following
are some of the biomass technologies used in the country:

1. Direct Combustion - This makes use of agricultural residues such as rice-hull from
the mill, cogeneration using coconut shell, bagasse in sugar mills, kiln-drying of
lumber, tobacco-curing, bakeries and other industries for the generation of
electrical and heat energy. Some direct combustion systems are already
operating commercially in the Philippines

2. Gasification - This is the process biomass fuel goes through to obtain fuel gas
which can either be burned in a boiler or used for generating mechanical power
using a diesel engine. The resulting product are called gasifiers and are coupled
to dual-fuel diesel engines and used primarily for rice-milling and irrigation. In the
Philippines, gasifiers, designed by the Department of Science and Technology are
being used for small-scale pottery and brick-making projects and drying of
paddy, fish and paper mache. The technology is not widely adopted due to lack
of reliability in the absence of trained technicians, low cost of crude oil which
makes gasification economically unattractive and lack of sustained promotion
campaigns outlining the benefits.

3. Biogas – Like direct combustion, biogas technology is already in the stage of

commercial operation in various parts of the country. Biogas technology is
already considered a commercial venture in the Philippines. But eventhough a
number of installations are operating successfully, the use of biogas is not
widespread. This is due to lack of information and technical know-how of people
in the industry (pig farms) and high initial investment costs.

4. Alcohol production technology - This is when alcohol is blended with petroleum

products to be used as fuel in engines. There are 3 main kinds of alcohol-fuel
blends: alcogas, al-gas, and alco-diesel.
 5. Biomass carbonization - Charcoal is used for domestic cooking and other
applications. Charcoal making from agri-residues is gaining many acceptances.
These residues, if left unutilized, often cause environmental problems. Wide range
of devices which were developed for carbonizing agricultural and other residues
have found limited acceptance so far. Some universities in the Philippines
continue to develop this technology through its research, particularly on the use
of pyrolysis on agricultural by-products.

6. Depending on the type of equipment used, densification can be categorized

into four main types, namely: piston press densification, screw press densification,
roll press densification, and pelletizing. Products from the first three types of
densifications are large compared to pellets, and are normally called briquettes.
In the Philippines rice hulls briquettes have been available commercially as early
as 1995.

Densification involves compressing the raw material, which causes two problems;
high electricity consumption by the driving motor; and wear of machine parts.
Two recent developments for reducing wear and energy consumption of
densification machines include the preheating to soften the raw material just
before its compaction in briquetting machines and the use of a small amount of
a thermoplastic material both to lubricate the die of pelleting presses and to
improve calorific value of the densified product. Efforts are also under way to
apply advanced surface coating to the screw of briquetting machines that can
dramatically increase their life by reducing wear.

3. BIOMASS UTILIZATIONS

Biomass energy is extensively used in the country, particularly in the residential and
industrial sectors. Out of the reported 27 million tones (Mt) of biomass used in 1995, 70% or
18.7 Mt was consumed by the residential sector (Elauria, Castro, Elauria, 2002), with
cooking as the major end-use. The industrial sector, on the other hand, utilizes biomass
mainly for steam and power generation. The tables below list the various ways in which
biomass resources may be utilized in different industries and the corresponding
percentage of each type of application.

Table 2 Some Examples of Utilization of Biomass Resources by Industry

Industry Examples of Utilization

Agriculture/Aquaculture
Industry and Other Business Opportunities
Household
Source: Adapted from Nicolas, 1999
Production of organic fertilizer
Production of feeds for animal, fish, etc.
Food production from biomass
Energy generation from biomass fuels
Production of handmade paper
Production of low cost building materials
Rice hull fired bakery oven
Small scale charcoal briquetting plant
Drier machine for lumber and furniture
components
Philrice rice hull stove and IRRI biomass
cookstove
Agriculture/Aquaculture

Production of organic fertilizer

The creation of a national program on rapid composting paved the way in promoting
the use of Trichoderma compost fungus activator (CFA) with the production and the use
of generated compost fertilizer in irrigated rice and non-rice areas. Trichoderma
harzianum an agent for rapid decomposition of agricultural wastes was discovered by
the Institute of Biological Science, University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna. It
shortens the decomposition period of farm wastes from the usual 5-6 months to as short
as 3-5 weeks The program was launched in 1990 with support from the Department of
Agriculture in coordination with the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and
Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

Production of feeds for animal, fish, etc.

Vermimeal which is produced by processing earthworm biomass into earthworm meal

can be used as an ideal substitute for imported fish meal used for prawn, fish and animal
diets.

Food Production using Biomass

The Institute of Biological Science (IBS) of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños,
Laguna has been advocating through its techno-transfer work for the sustainable
production of Volvariella volvaceae or straw mushroom as a means of raising the protein
level of the people in the rural area. The IBS research showed that aside from rice straw,
mushrooms can also be grown on banana leaves, water hyacinth plants, cotton wastes,
and oil palm wastes. Another mushroom species called "Pleurotus" (also known as "oyster"
or "abalone") is also recommended for cultivation using various by-products or waste
materials e.g., a mixture of sawdust and rice bran, rice straw and rice bran, sawdust and
ipil-ipil leaves, rice straw and ipil-ipil leaves, corn cobs, sugarcane bagasse, rice hull and
dried water lily leaves.

Energy generation from biomass fuels

Small scale biomass pyrolyzer for farm irrigation: Developed by the Forest Product
Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) of the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST), the pyrolyzer system produces combustible gas and carbon from
agro-forestry wastes (e.g. rice hull, pili, peanut and crushed coconut shells, corn cobs,
coffee bean hull and wood chips). The gas can be used to fuel an internal combustion
engine to drive irrigation pumps. It can supply the water requirement of a 9.3 hectare
farm in 8 hours.

Drier machines for postharvest handling of agricultural crops: Postrharvest grain losses
due to spoilage is one of the root causes of farmer's low profit. Aside from quality loss
about 1-5% of paddy grain quantity is lost because of delayed drying during wet season
(de Padua, 1979). For corn, losses at the farm level ranged from 3.8 to 4.1% for a period
of 6 days after harvest and an average of 7% in storage for 6 months (NAPHIRE, 1996). To
abate this problem several government agencies embarked on a massive development
of drier machine prototypes to recycle agrowastes causing environmental nuisance.
Examples of these include the Phil-rice UAF batch dyer made by the Philippine Rice
Research Institute and the Los Baños multi-crop dryer by the University of the Philippines
Los Baños.

Industry and Other Business Opportunities

Production of handmade paper

Between 10-12 million tons of rice straw are generated in the country annually. These
wastes which oftentimes are burned or left to rot in the field have been identified as a
promising material for handmade paper. The Forest Product Research and Development
Institute (FPRDI) confirmed the suitability of rice straw for the production of high quality
paper for special purposes e.g. art paper, greeting cards, novelty paper items, etc.
Another government agency, the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) disclosed that
tobacco stalks (classified as waste) can be processed into high quality paper. The pulp
yield from tobacco which is about 65% is higher than those of rice straw, cogon grass,
banana and pineapple fiber and comparable with abaca fiber, the most commonly
used fiber for handmade paper making.

Production of low cost building materials

The Forest Product Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) of the Department of
Science and Technology is credited for the commercialization of 3 least cost building
components from agro-forest wastes namely: rice hull ash cement (RHAC), cement
bonded board (CBB) and woodwool cement boards (WWCB). The addition or
substitution of RHAC in hollow blocks making will largely reduce the cost of production
and solve the problem of rice hull disposal. On the other hand, cement bonded board
(CBB) utilizes a wide range of waste materials like sugarcane bagasse, rattan and
bamboo shavings and tobacco and corn stalk. Other sources of raw materials are small
diameter trees, plantation trimmings and tree tops and branches which are considered
as wastes in the industrial tree plantations. In the manufacturing process practically no
wastes is generated because the board trimmings can be used as fillers or can be
recycled to form another board. CBB is a good substitute for buildings materials such as
tile, concrete hollow blocks, plywood, fiber board, and particle board. The main
component in the production of wood wool cement board are shredded wood,
portland cement, water and technical grade calcium chloride accelerator. WWCB is
weather proof, fire proof and resistant to fungus and termite attack. It has excellent
thermal insulating and acoustic properties and is a workable material for the
manufacture of modular and pre-fabricated structure used in the construction.

Rice hull fired bakery oven

Developed by the Forest Product Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) the rice
hull fired bakery oven can generate 300-600% fuel servings per bag of flour processed
compared with ovens using conventional fuels.

Small scale charcoal briquetting plant

The plant designed by FPRDI consisted of a mechanized briquetor, a mechanical

charcoal-binder mixer and a furnace type briquette drier fabricated out of locally
available materials. It converts charcoal fines from coconut shells and husks, coffee
bean hulls and other charcoal from nonwood biomass materials into densified briquettes
with the application of a binding agent and pressure.

Drier machine for lumber and furniture components

Two drier machine prototypes namely: (a) furnace type lumber drier and (b) fluidized
bed combustion of biomass for steam generation developed by the Forest Product
Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) are now commercially available. The
fluidized bed combustion (FBC) is best for the combustion of particulates fuels which can
not be handled by traditional wood fired furnace for steam generation. The FBC is
applicable in processing bent rattan and wooden furniture parts and as drier treatment
facility in the line production. On the other hand, the furnace type lumber drier utilizes
biomass with drying efficiency comparable with that of conventional steam heated drier.

Household

The Philrice rice hull stove and IRRI biomass cookstove

Between 2-3 million tons of rice hull are generated in the country annually. These biomass
are either dumped or burned with no regard to environmental degradation. Also
alarmed by the dimunition of the county's standing timber (from 1.55 billion c.m. in 1980
to 786 million c.m. In 1983 or 50% in just 3 yrs), both IRRI (International Rice Research
Institute) and Philrice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) have each developed a stove
to make better use of rice hull and other biomass. The metal sheet cookstove aside from
being environment friendly can be fabricated simply by local artisans. The stove has a
very low smoke level, low user attendance, affordable and weighs lightly (3.5 kg)

Table 3 The use of the industrial sector of biomass per application

Application Percentage of total

Steam and Power Generation 83.95
Commercial applications 14.75
Baking 0.90
Commercial Cooking 0.40
Source: Adapted from Energy for Sustainable Development Vol. 3

Table 4 Utilization of the residential sector of biomass based fuel

Fuel type Percentage of total

Wood fuel 77
Agricultural Residues 18.6
Charcoal 4
Animal Manure or Biogas 0.40
Source: Adapted from Energy for Sustainable Development Vol. 3

The mode of transportation of biomass resources is through land vehicles like trucks and
loaders. This sometimes creates a problem in the transportation of long distances since
the Philippine road network is overly loaded. Biomass costs could rise as a result of higher
transport costs and competition from other users of the material.

4.BIOMASS UTILIZATION RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

The following are some of the R&D projects currently being conducted in the Philippines
through the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) and the University of the
Philippines Los Baños (UPLB):

• Integrated Pilot Plant Studies on Biomass Densification (ITDI) – aims to improve the
densification process in order to come up with a pilot plant that can
accommodate various types of biomass materials.
• Hydrogen Production from Biomass (ITDI) – aims to conduct a techno-economic
assessment of the available technologies for the production of hydrogen from
biomass materials.
• Co-combustion of Agri-Wastes and Local by Fluidized Bed Combustion with SO2
Absorption Using Indigenous Sorbents (ITDI) – aims to reduce the SO2 emissions by
using locally available adsorbents involving the co-combustion of biomass and
coal using rice-hull and low-grade coal for combustion in a bubbling fluidized-
bed combustion (BFBC) system.
• Biomethanation of Energy Municipal and Industrial Wastes (ITDI) – aims to
produce high yields of biogas using organic wastes.
• Integrated Rice Hull Utilization for Energy and Other Value-Added Products (ITDI) –
aims to design, fabricate and test a reactor, which can produce carbonized rice
husk, activate carbon and amorphous silica.
• Development of an Energy Audit R&D Database (ITDI) – aims to prepare a
database on energy conversion and energy efficiency projects and studies.
• Development of a Fast-Drying System for Coconut Meat (ITDI) – go to
http://mis.dost.gov.ph/itdi/r&d/fed/services.htm for more details
• Development of a Biomass-Fired Oven (ITDI) – ditto
• Assessment of Sustainable Biomass Resource Potential (UPLB) – aims to assess the
potential of both plantation and non-plantation biomass
• Assessment of cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement through substitution of
fossil fuel systems by selected modern/improved biomass energy systems (UPLB) –
aims to show how modern and improved BETs can serve as options for reducing
GHG emissions.
• Policy Analysis to Identify Barriers to the Deployment of BETs (UPLB) – aims to
identify barriers and offer measures to overcome these barriers
• Ranking of BETs and Barriers to their Commercialization (UPLB) –aims to assess and
rank the barriers to the adoption of improved cookstoves and biogas technology,
as well as, help policymakers prioritize the promotion of BETs based on various
criteria.
• See http://www.energy.com.ph/ for more info on PNOC projects

Review of policies on biomass energy technologies

Recognizing the contribution of the renewable energy technologies in the country’s

energy sector, the Philippine government formulated several policies and programs to
hasten the growth and development of RE technologies. This can be made possible by
creating an environment that is conducive to RE commercialization. The following are
the policy statements on RE under the Philippine Energy Plan, 1999-2008:

Republic Act No. 7638: the DOE is tasked with the formulation of the Philippine Energy
Plan (PEP) which contains the Philippines’ current energy policies and strategies. The
main programs listed in the plan are Power Development, Energy Resource
Development, Downstream Facilities and Electrification. It also includes programs on
Energy Efficiency and New Renewable Energy (NRE) including Biomass. Some project
developers feel that the policy statements in the PEP are not aligned with new priorities
and restrict the implementation of renewable energy programs. Benefits from NRE are
measured in terms of its contribution to the energy mix; hence policy is geared towards
the development of large-scale renewable energy projects. This policy negates the
benefits of small-scale applications that are considered more effective in remote and
more depressed areas.

Executive Order (EO) No. 215: Allowing the private sector to generate electricity. This
order amended Presidential Decree No. 40 and provides that private corporations,
cooperatives or similar associations are allowed to construct and operate generating
plants, namely cogeneration units, electric generating plants intending to sell their
production to the grids, electric generating plants intended to sell directly or indirectly to
the end-users and electric generating plants for self-use. Although EO No. 215 allows the
private sector to generate electricity, some provisions are called ‘‘lumps in the throat’’ of
prospective developers. These range from the five-year track record of a project
developer, 95 % biomass and 5 % fossil fuel to be used in start-up for a hybrid system, 65 %
thermal efficiency rating and the provision of spinning reserves at all times. This led to the
amendment of the Executive Order by the DOE through the issuance of Circular No.
2000-03-004.

DOE Circular No. 2000-03-004. Further Amending Regulation No. 1-95 entitled ‘‘Rules and
Regulations Implementing Exec. Order No. 215 on Private sector Participation in Power
Generation’’ as amended by Department Circular No. 97-01-001. This circular
incorporates reforms essential in facilitating NRE development in the Philippines such as
the following:
· Companies are no longer required to show a five-year track record to receive
accreditation for NRE generation facilities, provided that technology is commercial in
nature and is locally adaptable or the project is for self-generation purposes.
· Removal of the thermal efficiency requirement for cogeneration facilities using NRE.
· Renewable resource power production facilities are exempted from the ten-year power
purchase agreement and are only required to demonstrate potential for foreign
exchange. The streamlined accreditation process for NRE projects is seen to open
opportunities for more private sector investment in NRE, leading to stronger competition
and lowering the costs of renewable energy products and services.

Republic Act (RA) No. 809: defining the sharing schemes between sugar cane planters
and millers. RA No. 809 defines the sharing scheme between planters and millers of the
products and by-products of sugar cane, including molasses, mud-cake, and bagasse at
64 % to 36 %, respectively. At present the growers have 64 % of all the products. Now they
are taking 64 % of the value of the sugar and molasses, but if the bagasse is used as an
energy source and acquires value, the growers will demand 64 % of the value of the fuel,
leaving the millers no incentive to invest in bagasse-fired cogeneration facilities, and this
could affect the economics of biomass-based cogeneration facilities. Imposition of this
sharing agreement is not ‘‘fair’’, since the capital investment for power generation is
typically comparable to or larger than the capital investment in the sugar mill and
associated harvesting and processing operations. In order to encourage cogeneration
and power generation from sugar mills, there must be a new negotiated arrangement
with the growers who will benefit from additional income from power sales that otherwise
will not occur.
Republic Act No. 8435, Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) of 1997:
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 8435, all enterprises engaged in agriculture and fisheries
shall for five years after
the law enters into effect, be exempted from the payment of tariff and duties for the
importation of agriculture and fisheries inputs, equipment and machinery including
renewable energy systems such as solar panels. AFMA is envisioned to enhance the
modernization of agriculture and fisheries for national food security and upliftment of the
living condition of the people, especially farmers. Alternative energy sources, particularly
biomass energy, are being targeted as a possible source for agricultural production and
processing. Incentives from tariffs and duties on biomass energy systems have not been
tried but players from the NRE sector feel that this may encounter the same difficulty with
the Bureau of Customs.

Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1068: Accelerating research, development and utilization of
non-conventional energy resources PD No. 1068 vests the powers and functions in
connection therewith in the energy development board and allows any person, natural
or judicial, who will directly participate in the national program to accelerate research,
development and utilization of non-conventional energy resources o avail himself/herself
of incentives. This provides exemption from payment of duties and compensating tax on
the imported machinery and equipment, and spare parts and all materials required in
the establishment and construction of non-conventional energy facilities or equipment,
subject to the conditions that the said items are not manufactured locally. Judging from
the experience of some importers of NRE systems, PD 1068 is either inadequately
implemented or not implemented at all. In the case of solar projects, while solar panels
are subject to specific tariff of 3 %, most balance of systems does not have appropriate
classification, hence the tariff imposed is subject to the examiner’s discretion. The same
applies to biomass energy systems. Both DOE and the Tariff Commission agree that
despite the existence of PD 1068, there are still instances in which tariff rates differ for the
same NRE system or unit.

5. LIMITATIONS AND PROBLEMS IN BIOMASS UTILIZATION

Barriers to the commercialization of biomass energy technologies

Significant efforts have already been made to demonstrate the potential of biomass
energy technologies. Several biomass energy technologies are already mature and are
being promoted for commercialization. Likewise, the biomass energy industry has made
a significant improvement in the technical performance of existing technologies.
However, there exists a misconception that biomass energy sources are not as reliable as
conventional energy sources. Moreover, despite their wide promotion, their contribution
is still low because of the following barriers and problems that need to be addressed:

• Lack of land for biomass production,

• Low productivity of land available for biomass plantation,
• Difficulty in accessing finance,
• Lack of relevant policies that provide incentives and opportunities for development
and utilization of biomass energy resources, and
• Lack of institutional set-up that could facilitate and promote biomass production for
energy.
In order to overcome the abovementioned problems there should be a collective effort
to formulate relevant policies that would promote plantation for energy, incentives to
promote plantation energy and the development of efficient and cost-effective biomass
energy utilization technologies and equipment.

As mentioned earlier, almost all of the New and Renewable Energy (NRE) used in the
Philippines is biomass based. Utilization, research and development in the country of
(NRE) in general has issues that need to be addressed also and these can be classified
as:
• Market and finance related barriers: These include an underdeveloped renewable
energy industry, high capital costs, limited access to finance, unfair financing
treatment accorded to renewable energy (RE) technologies, poor project
preparation capability, lack of rational energy pricing and regulatory policy, lack of
adequate knowledge of market conditions, and diluted government efforts.
• Technological barriers: These include lack of local competence regarding some
technologies, lack of product standards, and reliance on imported products and
parts for renewable energy systems.
• Information dissemination related barriers: These include weak information
networking, and limited public awareness of RE technologies.
• Policy barriers: These include bias of existing policies towards conventional energy
technologies, absence of comprehensive RE development plan, laxity in
implementing environmental laws regarding energy systems and insufficient
government incentives for promoting RE.
• Institutional barriers: There is a lack of co-ordination among concerned agencies and
organizations. In the absence of a comprehensive development plan for RE sector,
various agencies involved remain unfamiliar with their roles in the development and
promotion of RE technologies. Government agencies involved are pursuing different
directions. Potential investors and end-users are not properly informed of the benefits
they can obtain from the use of RE technologies.

Possible measures that could be undertaken to overcome the barriers are:

• Development of appropriate financing packages,
• Provision of information on available RE technologies and financing packages,
• Development of local competence,
• Development of market awareness and acceptance,
• Technology assessment and technical capability building,
• Formulation and enforcement of quality standards of RE technologies,
• Conduct of information and education campaign,
• Revision of rules and regulations on energy project accreditation requirements, and
• Development of appropriate fiscal incentives.

In order to overcome the barriers to the adoption of biomass energy technologies, an

integrated approach on the part of the government is required. The government needs
to foster the active participation of the private sector, especially in the development
and implementation of biomass energy projects. It needs to formulate and implement
policies and programs supporting the market of biomass energy technologies to attract
the private sector. A well-developed market is the key to long-term sustainability, as it
encourages private entities to venture into commercially viable projects.

Furthermore, the extent to which a biomass resource can be utilized for a particular end
use is limited by: 1) its concentration or supply and 2) its biomass quality which includes
physical properties such as size, moisture content and bulk density, and chemical
properties such as ash content, energy content and composition. In general, the
principle is that the lower the biomass quality of the resource, the simpler the end use
must be in order to utilize the resource to its greatest comparative advantage (Samson
et al., 2001).

The table below assesses the biomass quality and the suitability of biomass resources for
bio-energy applications:

Table 5 Suitability of biomass resources for bio-energy applications

Resource Quality Resource Limitations

High Wood
Baggasse High water content
Medium Coconut shells
Rice hulls High ash
Sugarcane trash High potassium and chlorine,
moderate retrieval cost
Coconut husks High retrieval cost
Napier grass High potassium and chlorine
Maize cobs High retrieval cost
Low Coconut fronds High retrieval cost
Rice straw High retrieval cost, high ash
Source: Samson et al., 2001

Conclusion

Energy from biomass constitutes an important part of the total energy supply in the
Philippines. The country has an abundant supply of biomass resources, which could be a
potentially significant source of energy. As of this time some resources are already being
exploited for energy, but considerable amounts are still treated as waste, and remain
untapped. Although technologies have already been in use for the last decade and
with its continuing improvement due to the various research and development done by
the country’s scientific people, the manner in which biomass is currently utilized for
energy is, however, far from ideal and is characterized by gross inefficiency and pollution
of the environment. Biomass fuels could provide a much more extensive energy service
than at present if these were used efficiently. With this in mind, the government with the
private sector must join hand in hand to further develop new technologies and improve
existing ones to maximize the use and potential of this valuable resource for energy.

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